


Overprotective

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 21:14:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20495426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Jack gets sick on tour and is excessively careful around Alex.





	Overprotective

**Author's Note:**

> This is set during the Nothing Personal era.

Something that Jack really hated was getting sick, especially when on tour, so when he woke up with a raw throat, sore body and chills on a Tuesday morning on tour, he was less than thrilled. He knew that staying in bed and not trying to help himself by getting some medicine would be stupid, so he forced himself out of his bunk, and to the front of the bus. Rian was out there by himself, working on something on his laptop.   
“Hey Jack,” Rian said as Jack walked in.  
“Hey dude,” Jack replied in a raspy voice, before coughing some.   
“You don’t sound too good,” Rian observed.  
“I don’t feel too good, either. I hate getting sick on the road,” Jack said, looking through the cabinets for something that would help him feel better.   
“That really sucks, man. It’s going to suck for the whole band, because this means that Alex will probably get sick now, too,” Rian stated.  
“Not necessarily,” Jack replied, taking some Dayquil.  
“Oh, he for sure will. First of all, he has the world’s worst immune system. Second, he likes to spend every waking moment with you when you’re sick so he can take care of you. Then, right around when you’re okay again, he ends up with a worse version of whatever you had. Have you never noticed this pattern? It happens every single time,” Rian explained.  
“Oh shit, I guess that does happen every time. This just means that I’ll have to be really careful around him. I don’t want to be the reason he gets sick and possibly have to make us cancel a show,” Jack decided.  
“That reminds me, we have a show tonight, do you think you’ll be okay for it?” Rian asked.  
“Yeah, I should be fine. I don’t feel great and I can tell that I have a fever, but I’ve definitely played feeling worse than I do now,” Jack explained.  
“That’s good, man. Now, how’re you going to be careful around Alex?” Rian asked.   
“I guess I’m going to hide away in my bunk until we get to the venue. How much longer do we have to go?” Jack asked.  
“We’re still two or three hours out. Good luck dude, I bet you’re going to get bored doing nothing for that long, since you won’t have Alex,” Rian predicted.  
“Probably, but I’ll be fine. I’m not getting Alex sick this time, I swear on it,” Jack decided, before sneezing.   
After getting himself a bottle of water, he walked back to his bunk. He climbed in and started to watch videos on his phone, hoping that he wouldn’t get too bored without Alex there to keep him company.  
———  
About an hour later, Alex and Zack walked out to the front of the bus, where Rian was still on his laptop.  
“Hey guys, what’s up?” Rian asked his bandmates.  
“We just played on the Xbox for a bit. Where’s Jack?” Alex asked, sitting on the couch opposite of Rian.   
“He’s in his bunk,” Rian replied, shutting his laptop.  
“He’s seriously still asleep?” Zack asked, sounding surprised.  
“He’s a bit sick, so he’s trying to rest up,” Rian stated.  
“That sucks, maybe I should keep him company or something,” Alex said, before walking to the bunk area.  
“Hey Jack,” Alex said, walking to the last bunk on the bottom left.   
At this point, Jack was pretty bored. He didn’t feel great, but he didn’t feel bad enough that the only thing he would be able to do was lay in one place for the whole day. Hanging out with Alex sounded great, but he was determined to keep the promise he made to himself about not getting his friend sick. Jack put his phone under his pillow before opening his curtain to see a concerned looking Alex crouched down next to his bed.   
“Hey Alex,” Jack said in a raspy voice.  
“Man, Rian wasn’t kidding, you don’t sound good,” Alex said, sounding just as concerned as he looked.   
“I’ve definitely been better,” Jack said, before coughing into his pillow.  
“Is there anything I can do to help you feel better? We can watch a movie, or I can just keep you company,” Alex offered. As much as Jack wanted to say yes to all of the above, he knew he shouldn’t.  
“I think I just need to sleep and relax here for now, but thank you. I really do appreciate the offer,” Jack replied.  
“Okay, whatever you think is best. I’m going back up front with the others, then, but let us know if you need anything,” Alex said, walking away.   
Jack sighed, really wanting to spend time with Alex, but he knew it was in the best interest of the band if he didn’t. He realized that there were still about two more hours until they’d be at the venue, so he went to Netflix and clicked on the first movie that popped up on the screen. As he started it, he hoped that the time would pass by quickly.  
——–  
Once they got to the venue, Jack couldn’t have been more excited, since he could finally have some human interaction. When they were close to the venue, Jack got himself ready by putting on some decent sweats, since he still had some chills. He walked to the front of the bus and saw that his bandmates were all out there and ready to go.  
“Nice outfit, dude,” Zack said, laughing some.  
“Fuck you, if you felt like I do right now, you’d dress the same,” Jack replied with a cough.   
“Come on guys, we have to go,” Rian said, getting everyone back together. They walked off of the bus, and towards the venue, and Alex eventually caught up with Jack.  
“Hey dude, how’re you feeling?” Alex asked his friend.  
“I’ve been worse, but definitely not great,” Jack replied.  
“I’m sorry to hear that, man,” Alex replied sympathetically.   
“Hey, we’re here, I’m going to get my guitar,” Jack said, coughing as he walked over to their instruments were set up.   
Once they were all ready, they began their soundcheck, which they ended up cutting a bit short for Jack, which he greatly appreciated. By the end of it, Jack felt cold and tired and just wanted to snuggle with Alex, like he normally would’ve done.  
“Do you want to go on the bus and watch a movie until we have to be back for the show?” Alex offered.  
“I think I’m going to rest on one of the green rooms until we go on, but thanks for the offer,” Jack replied.   
Alex looked a bit hurt, which made Jack feel bad, he hated to reject all of the kind offers from his best friend, but he wanted to be as careful as he could. With that, Jack walked over to one of the rooms backstage that had a couch and TV and shut the door. He got under a blanket that was on the couch and turned on the TV, and after finding a decent looking movie, he drifted off to sleep.   
——-  
“Hey, get up, we have to go on,” Rian said, shaking Jack.  
“What?” Jack asked, coughing some.  
“We go onstage in about five minutes, you have to get up,” Rian continued, as Jack slowly started to wake up.   
He got himself ready, then walked over to the stage entrance with Rian. Alex and Zack were already there, making sure their instruments were tuned.  
“Hey man, how’re you feeling?” Alex asked Jack.  
“A bit better, I guess,” Jack replied.   
Alex wanted to continue the conversation, but they were called immediately to go onstage and take their places. Jack and Alex still exchanged banter between the songs as they normally did, but it was obvious that Jack was getting really tired as the show went on. He had to cough quite a bit, and that combined with talking took quite a toll on his voice.   
By their last song, Jack felt cold, drained, and generally much worse, which he knew would happen. After thanking the fans, they all walked offstage. Jack knew that Alex was probably concerned about him, but he was still determined to keep his promise.   
He quickly took off his guitar and went to the bus before Alex could talk to him, even though he really wanted to be with his friend. When he got on the bus, he changed into comfier clothes then set himself up in the back lounge. He really wanted some tea to help his throat, but he didn’t have enough energy to get up and make it, so he just turned on the TV and put on a movie after a little bit of channel surfing.   
Suddenly, he burst into a coughing fit, preventing him from hearing the bus door open, and the footsteps that went toward the back lounge. Alex saw Jack doubled over, and immediately sat next to him and rubbed his back until the fit finally went away.  
“You really don’t sound good, man. Can I do anything to help you feel better?” Alex asked his friend.  
“No, I’m all good,” Jack quickly replied.  
“No, you’re not, Jack. Why have you been trying to avoid me all day? Did I do something wrong?” Alex asked, sounding hurt.  
“No, of course not, Alex, I’m so sorry that I made you think that. It’s just, Rian brought up that you always get sick from taking care of me, and it usually ends up being worse for you. I know it’s hard for you to be sick on the road, since you have to sing and everything, so I was just trying to be extra careful and not get you sick this time,” Jack explained with a sneeze.  
“Jack, I don’t care if I get sick from you. It does suck to be sick as a singer, but it’s okay, because I’d rather get sick taking care of you than have to watch you suffer alone. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine no matter what happens, I promise. Now, I’m going to make you some tea for your throat because I know it hurts, then we can cuddle and watch a movie like we always do,” Alex decided, making both of them smile.  
“Thank you, Alex. I’m sorry that I wasn’t honest with you from the beginning, you’re the best friend ever,” Jack replied.  
It’s okay, thank you for being so concerned about me. Now, let me get that tea,” Alex said.   
He got Jack a cup of honey lemon tea, then let Jack snuggle into him, making Jack feel very grateful to have such a great friend like Alex. Of course, Alex ended up getting sick, but it wasn’t as bad as usual. Jack helped Alex feel better when he was well again himself, and this experience made both boys realize that they were very grateful to have each other as bandmates and best friends.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, it's been a minute since I've posted a story here! I didn't mean to take a hiatus from posting and writing, it just kind of happened. I'm super motivated to write and post on here now! I have quite a few stories that I wrote with the intention to post, but never did, so those will be going up in the near future! Send in requests if you have them! Lots of love, Liv.


End file.
